If it feels like your lawn or planting beds are being overtaken by a relentless, climbing vine with morning-glory-style flowers, you aren't alone.
Field bindweed is one of the most invasive perennial weeds in Eastern Idaho, and once it takes hold in your lawn or landscape beds, it is notoriously hard to kill.
In Idaho Falls, bindweed thrives because of its massive root system. These roots can extend up to 20 feet deep, allowing it to survive drought and harsh winters that kill off other plants.
Successfully controlling bindweed in the Snake River Valley requires a combination of persistent herbicide applications and healthy turf competition. Because the roots store massive amounts of energy, a single treatment is never enough.
Here is the professional breakdown of how to identify, treat, and ultimately get rid of bindweed in your Idaho lawn.
First, What is Bindweed?
This weed villain is a dastardly perennial plant with creeping and twining stems that grow along the ground and up through other plants.
This tenacious weed has a root system so deep that it’s been known to survive bulldozer operations.
One of the most common weeds in Idaho, field bindweed grows along the ground until it encounters another plant, then wraps around that unlucky plant as it grows.
It has pretty white-to-pinkish, bell-shaped flowers, but don’t let it fool you. It’s the worst.
A single plant can spread outward more than 10 feet in one growing season. It forms an extensive root system, and its seeds can lie dormant in the ground for 50 years.
The roots are brittle and break easily. That’s a bummer, because even the smallest piece left in the ground will develop into a new plant. (Insert swear words here.)
How to Get Rid of Bindweed?
It might be easier just to move. Just kidding. Sort of.
What’s the best bindweed killer?
Bindweed requires a powerful, specialized herbicide to control it, and a single treatment will never completely do the trick. It takes multiple applications.
You might read that the herbicide glyphosate is the best bindweed killer.
Here at Lawn Buddies, we never use glyphosate on the lawn. It’s a non-selective herbicide, which means it kills everything it touches.
Homeowners who want to try controlling bindweed themselves with glyphosate should use it very carefully and understand the risks to their lawn.
How to Prevent Bindweed in Idaho
The best method of weed control is establishing healthy turf, including proper fertilization, watering, and mowing.
Weeds hate a thick, healthy lawn. Dense grass crowds out weeds and blocks the sunlight their seeds need to sprout.
Weeds love to push through struggling lawns, taking over weak spots. So your best line of defense against bindweed and other pesky weeds is to keep your grass thick, lush, and healthy with an annual lawn care maintenance program that promotes strong roots. Then weed seeds will have a tougher time sprouting.
Controlling Bindweed with Lawn Buddies
When you choose Lawn Buddies, you get one premium, six-visit lawn care program that includes everything your lawn needs to grow healthy and green, including weed control that’s perfectly timed throughout the year.
Most weeds are banished over the course of the six-step program.
But some extra-tough weeds like field bindweed often require a different herbicide, which requires additional visits on top of the normal lawn treatment.
Controlling weeds is a process, not a one-shot deal.
If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care that offers quality core lawn care services for a healthy green lawn, it doesn’t get easier than Lawn Buddies.
No puzzling over a weed control visit here or a fertilizer treatment there. No stressing about which complicated combination of lawn care services is best for your lawn.
You don’t have time to fuss with all that. Give yourself a break.
Lawn Buddies offers one premium, six-visit lawn care program that includes everything your Idaho lawn needs to grow healthy and green.
Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control, all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and resists weeds.
Is Your Lawn Ready for a New Best Friend?
Stop worrying about weeds and partner with a company that makes lawn care easy.
Choose a professional lawn care service in the Idaho Falls, ID area that bundles your yard’s most-needed treatments into one convenient, no-fuss plan that tells you the cost up front.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.
Image Source: bindweed
